Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota: History
The Wounded Knee Massacre occurred in Oglala Lakota County in 1890.
The county was originally named for Peter C. Shannon, Chief Justice of the Dakota Territory Supreme Court. Until 1982, Shannon County and Washabaugh County, South Dakota, were the last unorganized counties in the United States. Although it was organized and received a home rule charter that year, the county, as noted above, contracts with Fall River County for its Auditor, Treasurer, and Registrar of Deeds.
On November 4, 2014, voters in the county voted by a margin of 2,161 to 526 to rename Shannon County to Oglala Lakota County.
The name change was ratified by the state legislature on March 5, 2015. May 1, 2015 was proclaimed by the governor as the official day for renaming the county.